Microsoft Word is one of the most readily available and widely used content types by faculty and students alike. Being mindful of document formatting can help ensure accessibility across your course content.
Document Title
The document title is a hidden metadata field separate from the document body, headings, and even the filename. It can only be set in the desktop version of Word via File → Info → Title. Without this, tools like Panorama will flag the document every time.
Heading Styles
Using Word's built-in heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) is essential for screen reader users, as it allows them to navigate a document non-linearly, much like a sighted person skims. Headings must be applied in hierarchical order and go beyond simply bolding text; they embed accessibility metadata into the document.
Color and Font
Colors should be high contrast, and Word's built-in "high contrast only" toggle makes this easier to manage. Crucially, color alone must never be the sole way to convey meaning (e.g., "do the pink assignments"). Font size should be at least 10pt, and overly stylized fonts, all-caps, or excessive bold should be avoided.
Tables
Tables should be built as actual Word tables, not inserted as images. Accessible tables need: a descriptive caption (added by right-clicking the table's move handle and selecting "Insert Caption"), clearly defined header rows or columns, and no merged cells containing data.
Hyperlinks and Images
Full URLs should not appear in documents. Instead, hyperlinks should use descriptive anchor text (e.g., "News from UL Lafayette" rather than "click here" or a raw URL).
All meaningful images must have alt text that describes their content; purely decorative images should be marked as decorative.
Helpful Tip: Use Panorama first to identify issues, then fix them manually in Word for more control over the final result.